Ok, so right now I have roughly $350 that I can sink into my rig but I can't make up my mind what to do. Its going to be at least a couple more months before I can afford anymore upgrades so I'm hoping to gain the most performance for my buck here.

So looking at my system specs, with $350 to spend and my build, what would you do?

My pc is used mostly for gaming on games like BF3, WoW, Diablo III, League of Legends.

Or perhaps going for a gpu upgrade, but then I'm not really sure what I could even get away with without my cpu bottlenecking or also having to upgrade my psu. If its not to obvious I'm not exactly a computer guru like most people on this site, but I'm learning.

Do you think I'd need to upgrade my psu also in order to run that card?

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No. But I would stick with going the Ivy Bridge upgrade route. All the games you listed benefit from a faster/better CPU (BF3 especially for multiplayer) while the 6850 is still coping well with most of the games (again BF3 needs some settings lowered but you already know that).

Now the 3570K performs about 2x better than what you have in about everything so I say it's and affordable great upgrade to your whole PC enjoyment. As for a new card, wait a little longer the GTX660Ti is around the corner, 660 also probably in a few months prices will come further down. I switched from an E8400 to a 2500K with the same GTX275 (a card that's comparable with what you have) and had very noticeable jump in framerates and smoothness in many games.

I agree with others in that you should upgrade your CPU and mobo. It's a better option for the long run.

You could buy a PSU, which would be an even better long run option. The PSU you have now is decent for what it is, but you'll be put in the position of needing to upgrade in the near future. It also might convenience you to go with a modular design, which would benefit your rig as far as airflow and aesthetics is concerned. There really are some fantastic PSUs out there right now that offer high efficiency across various loads and implement a modular design; that said, don't splurge a large portion of your $350 on it. Buy a decent PSU, but don't go overboard (though I doubt I need to tell you this ).

Anyway, take into account the advice given here, but ultimately make a decision that suits you!

How about my selection, the i5 3570k and ASrock Z77 Extreme4. Right now at Microcenter in-store I can get that combo for $282, leaving me with enough left over for a CPU cooler (being as everyone hates stock intel HS's). For that I had my eye on the CM Hyper 212 evo.

Are these all pretty solid choices or could I do better within my $350 budget? I say the budget is $350, but I'll take a lot less heat from the wife the less I spend.

How about my selection, the i5 3570k and ASrock Z77 Extreme4. Right now at Microcenter in-store I can get that combo for $282, leaving me with enough left over for a CPU cooler (being as everyone hates stock intel HS's). For that I had my eye on the CM Hyper 212 evo.

Are these all pretty solid choices or could I do better within my $350 budget? I say the budget is $350, but I'll take a lot less heat from the wife the less I spend.

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Everything is good. You can get the Hyper 212 plus which is maybe 10$ cheaper and does about the same job. Otherwise the prices are fantastic.

Nearly impossible to manage my cables with this psu/case lol. I posted my old mobo/cpu in the trade section (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170293) in hopes of scoring a better psu, then hopefully in the next few weeks I can score a new case, as I'm not very happy with my current one. Though airflow doesn't seem to be a big issue really, as my cpu idle temps are around 29ºc and around 45ºc while playing BF3 at 1920x1080 on high settings. My GPU never gets very hot either with the fan at 80% and the PCI slot cooler on it. But... It it looks like crap.

Oh and my gpu decided it wants to sag at the end for some reason? Blarg.